Collection and dispensing means for coins or the like



April 3, 1951 R. s. WALLACH 2,547,102

COLLECTION AND DISPENSING MEANS FOR COINS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 2, 19463 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 30/7! 62 iVa/larfi BY ATTORNEYS April 1951 R.s. WALLACH 2,547,102

COLLECTION AND DISPENSING MEANS FOR COINS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 2, 19463 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO I? HTTORN E Y5 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I N VE N TO Rifuhr/ J. Wd/ldf/L AM, M v ,AMX ATTORNEYS R. S. WALLACH COLLECTION ANDDISPENSING MEANS FOR COINS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 2, 1946 April 3, 1951Patented Apr. 3, 1951 COLLECTION AND DISPENSING MEANS FOR COINS OR THELIKE Robert S. Wallach, Madison, N. J., assignor to AssociatedDevelopment and Research Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application February 2, 1946, Serial No. 645,194

4 Claims. (01. 235-32) This invention relates to an improved farecollection means.

In particular, the invention relates to a fare collector and changemaker such as employed in street cars, busses or other installationswhere the patron pays an admission fee by the deposit of a coin ortoken.

In conventional installations where a patron presents to the driver orattendant a coin which must be changed, the attendant takes the coin,manipulates his change maker, and then picks up the coins ejectedtherefrom and hands them to the patron. During rush periods in a bus orstreet car, for example, the necessity for the driver physically tohandle the change slows up the flow of patrons into the vehicle andrequires the operator to divert his attention from the road ahead.Pursuant to the present invention, the driver accepts the coin to bechanged and manipulates his change maker, and the coins ejectingtherefrom fall into a receptacle which is convenient to the patron, whohimself picks up the coins and deposits the necessary fare. The drivertherefore may manipulate the change maker without having to observe thecoins ejected therefrom or to pick them up to hand to the patron.

The change maker is removably housed within the fare collector; as thefare passes through the box it records and passes directly into thechange maker. The fare collector accommodates either five cent or tencent pieces or equivalent tokens, and the same are properly distributedto the appropriate compartments of the change maker. In one embodimentof the invention, removal of the change maker from the fare collector,as by a driver who has left the bus unattended for a period, interruptsthe fare registry circuit, and coins which may be deposited bypassengers entering the bus will drop through the collector, into'thedischarge cup without being recorded. The passenger may do either one oftwo things: he may pick the coin out of the receptacle and wait for thedriver to pass through the bus collecting from individual passengersafter he returns, or the passenger may permit the fare to remain in thereceptacle. By electrically disconnecting the registry circuit upon theremoval of the change maker, no fares are recorded when deposited in thecollector and hence there is no likelihood of confusion arising from adouble registry if the passenger retrieves his fare and awaits itssubsequent collection by the driver.

In such an installation, the driver, upon his return, will collect suchfares as he finds in the receptacle and may collect the balance from theother passengers seated in the bus. The driver may himself record thetotal number of fares collected, by the operation of a suitable pushbutton switch or the like which energizes the fare registry mechanism.

It is to be understood, of course, that if desired the apparatus may beso constituted that the fares deposited in an unattended fare collectormay register, thus eliminating the necessity of the manual operation ofthe registry mechanism by the driver.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a combination farecollector and change maker in which change, when made, falls into areceptacle convenient to the boarding passenger, to eliminate thenecessity for the driver to handle the change.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combined farecollector and change maker wherein the deposited fares are registeredand pass into appropriate pockets or receptacles in the change maker.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a combined farecollector and change maker wherein the most frequently profiered coins,such as five cent pieces, are divided equally between a pair ofreceptacles in the change maker as the said coins pass through the farecollector.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device as aforesaidin which fares deposited by the patron will register only when thechange maker is in operative position.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide apparatus ofthe type described, which has a supplemental registry actuating meanswhereby the driver can register fares represented by coins which hecollects personally from passengers who had previously boarded the busduring a'period wherein the change maker had been removed from the farecollector.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a combined farecollector and change maker which is of simple construction and whichwill operate accurately over long periods of time, with minimum ofmaintenance requirements.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a coin collectionand dispensing means having a pivotally or swingably mounted receptacleor chute into which coins normally drop when discharged from thedispenser, but which may be swung into inoperative position so that thedriver orattendant may place his hand beneath the dispenser to receivethe coins therefrom.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter he described.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front or drivers-side elevation of a combined fare collectorand change maker embodying the present invention, a portion of the frontpanel of the change maker having been removed to reveal underlyingstructures;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the device taken on lines 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear or passengers-side elevation of a portion of theapparatus, taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2, the changemaker having beenremoved;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the coin distributing mechanism and coinretention mechanism, looking in the direction otthe arrows of 4'4 of Fe- Fig. 5 is a schematic wirin diagram for the coin register system;

Fig. 6 is a plan view, in section, showing a means of rotatably mountingthe coin receiving receptacle to permit the same to be swung intoinoperative position;

Fig. 7 is a front e evation of the apparatus embodying the rotatablymounted coin receptacle; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation thereof.

' Referring to the drawings, the numeral I 0, Fig. 1, represents theapparatus in its entirety, and said apparatus includes the coinreceiving and registering section II, the change maker l2, and thechange receiving receptacle i3, the apparatus being removably mounted onasuitable support H The fare collector includ s a coin receiving 'slotwhich enters into a sloping'passage it having a wall I! (see Fig. 2),which causes the coins to lean as they pass downwardly along saidpassage.

C'o'in collection mechanism The s ot l5 will receive either five cent orten cent pieces, or, alternatively, different size tokens whichrespectively represent one or two fares. The passage [6 is of sufiicientwidth and height to accommodate the larger of the coins or tokens whichthe apparat s is intended to receive, and

said larger coils will roll along the passage into a vertical drop 18which leads to a sloping chute 2D. Adjacent the upper end of said chute2" is an aperture 2! in its lower wall, through which aperture pennieswhich may have been p aced in the slot l5 in error will fall for passagealong a commun cating troug'h'22 into an external cup 23. It will beunderstood that the aperture 2! is too small to permit nickels to droptherethrough.

Near the mouth of the passage I 5, the slo ing wall i1 is provided withan aperture 26 which is slightly larger in diameter than the dime or theles er dimensioned of the coins or tokens which the collector is toreceive and hence dimes fall through the opening 24 into a drop 25 w ichcommunicates with a sloping chute 26. Nickels will-roll past theaperture 24, and hence, nickels, dimes and pennies are distinguished andseparated by the coin receiving mechanism.

Referring now briefly to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be noted that the nickelchute l8 terminate in a branching distributor section 21 and that thepassage of coins through said distributor section is. controlled by apivotally mounted distributor 4 at which comprises a diverter arm 3| andcoin striker arms 32, 33.

The dime chute 26 is not provided with such distributor, although thiscould be added thereto, if desired.

The distributor 21 and the end .of the dime chute are so located in theapparatus as to face the driver and ente a chamber provided with awindow 35, preferably hingedly mounted so that access to the chamber maybe had as desired. Said chamber may be electrically illuminated as by asmall electric lamp L.

It is desirable that a coin which has been deposited does not passimmediately into the change maker iii, to give the driver theopportunity to inspect the coin and detect counterfeits .orzslugs.Accordingly, there is provided a catch mechanism 36 which has branchingstop members'iil, 38 which project upwardly through slots in the rearWalls of the chutes 29 and 26 to form means for holding the pins insight beneath the window 35.

The catch 36 is pivotally secured to a push rod 3.: as by cooperatinghinge members 36a, 39a. A

' rigid lug of projection 3% extends forwardly to overlie the surface ofthe catch 36 so that the catch may rotate downwardly as seen in Fig. 2,but not upwardly. The catch is normally supported in horizontal positionby a freely vertically movable pin 46 which rests upon a very lightcontilever spring (ii secured to the casing of the unit, as shown. Thesaid spring is itself biased to rotate clockwise of its point ofsecurement, but is held in pin-supporting position so long as the changemaker is in position, as later de-'- scribed. By means later described,the deposit of the next fare in the slot !5 will release the catchmechanism to permit the trapped coin to pass into the change maker orother receptacle and to catch the said next-deposited coin as the samereaches the lower portion of the respective coin chute.

The change maker I2 is illustrated as being of conventional type havinga pair of receptacles 42 for nickels, a single receptacle 33 for dimes,and a single receptacle 44 for twenty-five cent pieces into which thedriver may manually place such coins. The change maker is removablyhoused within a pocket or compartment 45 and may be held therein by anysuitable detent means such as schematically illustrated at it. Thechange maker has the conventional lever actuated mechanism including thefinger pieces iZa, l2b, l2c, lid to be manually actuated by the driverto permit one coin at a time to pass from the receptacle into thechannel 4! which communicates with the cup l3.

It will be noted that the two nickel reservoirs are respectively beneaththe branches of the distributor section 2'1, and the dime chute 26 isimmediately above the dime receptacle 43. As a nickel is released by thestop 31, it will be defiected by the arms 3! to the right of Fig. 1 andwill engage the stop 32 which will pivot under the weight of the nickeland rotate clockwise, permitting the coin to drop into the right handnickel reservoir. The weighted pendulum introduces sufficient inertia tothrow the diverter arm 3| over to the opposite position, and the nextcoin released by the stop 31 will be deposited into the other nickelreceptacle. Hence, the coins are divided between .the two nickelreceptacles, which are more or less evenly filled.

It will be noted that the cup I3 is at the side of the apparatusopposite to the change maker;

analo hence the coins ejected therefrom passto' the cup at a locationconvenient to the passenger, who himself removes them and deposits thenecessary fare. The driver does not handle the change.

Registry mechanism Means are provided to register each fare according tothe coin deposited. Afive cent piece or single-fare token will actuate atrip register and a totalizer by. advancing the same one digit; atwo-fare piece will advance the same two digits. A bell or the like willsound once for a one-fare coin and twice for a two-fare coin.

The registry mechanism is controlled by a master solenoid 52 having anarmature 53 spring biased as by the spring 54. The armature has mountedthereon a striker 55 in operative rela tionship to a suitably positionedbell or the like 56. Also pivotally carried by the plunger 53 is anactuating arm 5'! which engages with one of a plurality of drive pins 53on the totalizer 69. The

totalizer is of conventional construction and need not .be particularlydescribed. The totalizer shaft 6I terminates in a worm or other actuator62 which in turn rotates the trip register 63, the digits of which aredisposed immediately beyond a window aperture 64 in the side of the farecollector. Suitably supported in the collector housing, and having apivoted actuating arm 85 extending into the passage I5 beyond theaperture 24, is a switch 86 the said arm of which is struck and rotatedby the five cent piece as it rolls along the passage. As will beobservedarm 56 is spaced from the base of chute it a distance such thatonly coins having a diameter-equal to that of a live centpiece willactuateit. In other words, coins of smaller diameter will pass downthrough the chute and in such passage will clear arm 66. The rotation ofthe switch arm in a clockwise di rection causes a momentary connection tbe made at the switch elements 61, and assuming the change maker I2 tobe in position, a circuit is completed which energizes the solenoid 52to draw the armature 53 inwardly. During this action, the arm 57 rotatesthe totalizer 58 one digit and also causes the trip register to advanceone digit. Near the end of its travel the striker 55 hits the bell tosound the audible signal.

'As appears in Fig. 3, there are two switches, respectively 10, 'II, theactuating arms i2, 13 of which are in operative relationship in the dimedrop 25, and as the dime or similar coin drops through, it successivelystrikes and actuates'the said switch arms, which close their associatednormally open switches. Each switch In, H is in parallel in the solenoidcircuit, as shown in Fig. 5, and hence a dime or two-fare token willactuate the solenoid 52 twice to advance the totalizer and trip registera total of two digits. Also, of course, the bell 56 will be soundedior'each actuation of the solenoid.

The'vertical arm 39 of the catch mechanism 36 is linked to the armatureby a bar 75 and pivoted ccunterlink 16. The said arm 39 is guided forvertical movement in a suitable slideway 16a, andhence as the armature53 moves to the left upon energization of the solenoid, the arm 39.ismoved downwardly whereby the catch 35 presses downwardly on itssupporting pin 49 to deflect the light spring 4! and move the stops ,3],38 beneath thelevel of the'coin chutes. Hence, if a coin, had been heldat the bottom of the respective chutes. such coin is released and willdrop into the change maker. Beforethe coin which has actuated thesolenoid has reached the lower partof its respective chute,"the's'to'pmembers will have returned 6 to operativeposition'and the saidcoin'willbe caught thereby.

It is frequent that a bus or car will be left unattended by the driverat the terminal; the driver upon leaving, will remove the change makerfrom the apparatus. However, passengers frequently board the bus duringthe absence of the driver and deposit their fares. It is desirable thatfares deposited during the absence of the driver drop completely throughthe unit into the cup I3, without being recorded or caught by the catchmembers 31, or 38. The passenger may then leave the fare in the cup ormay retrieve it and await the return of the driver, who as is usualpractice, will pass through the bus Or car collecting fares from thosewho are seated therein. 7

Accordingly, there is provided a pivotally mounted master switchIE-which has an arm 8ll which the rear portion of the change makerengages and urges rearwardly against resistance of spring 8| when thesame is in operative position. With the change maker in position, thearm swings the switch '18 into closed circuit position; when the changemaker is removed, the spring 8! rotates the arm counterclockwise to openthe circuit. Therefore, when the change maker is not in position, nocoin register will be operated.

The upper end of the switch 18 presses against the underside of spring4|, rotating said spring counterclockwise of Fig. 2 and lifting its freeend to a position where it will support pin 46 in such position as tomaintain the. catch 36 in operative position. When the change maker isremoved the spring M, no longer supported by switch 18., rotatesclockwise, droppin the pin 46 to permit the freely pivoted catch 36 todrop to a position where its fingers 37, 3B are below the surface of thecoin chutes. Without the coin changer in position, therefore, coinsdeposited in the collecter will fall freely through into the cup I3 asaforesaid; and any coin held beneath the window 35 will, upon removal ofthe change maker, drop into the cup for removal by the driver.

For the convenience of the driver in recording the number of fares whichhe has collected under the circumstances above set forth, there isprovided push button switch 83 mounted in the casing convenient to thedriver. The said switch is a fourth switch in parallel in the solenoidcircuit and the driver may press the switch once for each fare which hehas collected, thereby maintaining the accuracy of the totalizer.

Another embodiment of the invention contemplates the rotatable mountingof the change receiving chute to permit the same to be swung out ofposition with respect to the change dispenser, thus enabling the driver,when he desires, to dispense the coins into his own hand for transfer tothe passenger.

As shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, the coin receiving and registeringsectionhas been designated III, and is formed with a downwardlyextending collar H2 The coin receiving chute I3! is formed with aninwardly extending support member I32 terminating in a collar I33 whichfits rotatably about the collar H2. In a neck I 34 there is affiued aball-spring detent 535 to resiliently hold the receptacle iBl in eitherof two positions. To

his end, the collar I l 2 has ball-receiving pockets 525 into which theball detent is urged by the illustrated spring. I f .As clearly appearsin Figs. '7 and 8, the collar i i2 is sufiiciently long to receive,at'its lowermost After the unit has been completely assembled, it isplaced upon the supporting position or standard M, as is conventionalpractice.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 represent the coin dispenser in what is probably itsnormal position; that is, with the channel iii in position to receivecoins ejected from the dispenser. If, however, the driver pre ferspersonally to make change and to hand the: same to the passenger, he maymanually swing the coin receptacle i3l about the neck I I2 through aninety degree angle counterclockwise of Fig. 6, thus affording him theopportunity of placing his hand in the space normally occupied by thecollection chute 41! so that he may dispense coins into his hand.

In the specification and accompanying claims, it is to be understoodthat the term coins is to include tokens or any other essentiallycircular or rollabl'e device; and that the term change maker includesany device comprising reservoirs or pockets into which the collected ordeposited coins eventually pass. Conventi'onally, a, change makercomprises a coin receptacle having means whereby one or more coins maybe discharged by manipulation of levers or the like, and it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the type of change makershown.

Although the invention has been described by making a fully detailedreference to the certain presently preferred embodiments, such detail ofdescription is to be understood in an instructive rather than a limitingsense, many changes being possible within the scope of the claims heretoappended.

I claim:

1. In a combined coin collection and coin dispenser means, a casing, acoin dispenser removably contained within said casing; chute means forconveying a coin from an entrance through said casing and into said coindispenser; reciprocable stop means within said chute means to arrest thepassage of a coin therethrough, said stop means including a catch memberfreely pivoted to drop out of the path of said coin; means actuated bythe entry of a coin into said chute means to bodily move said catchmeans downwardly out of operative position without pivotal movement ofsaid catch member; means for resiliently holding said catch memberagainst pivotal movement so long as said coin dispenser is positionedwithin said casing; and means effective upon removal of said coindispenser for permitting said catch means to pivot downwardly out ofoperative position with respect to said chute means.

2. A coin collector and dispenser comprising, a casing havingcoin-receiving means; a chute communicating with said receiving meansand forming a conduit through which coins drop; means for arresting thepassage of a coin through the chute; means for registering the number ofcoins deposited within said receiving means; solenoid means foractuating said register and said coin arresting means; switch means forenergizing said solenoid means as a coin passes through said chute; acoin dispenser removably disposed Within said casing and arranged toreceive coins passing through said chute; and means .for interruptingsaid solenoid circuit and for rendering said coin arresting meansinoperative when said coin dispenser is removed from the casing; saidmeans including a pin for normally holding said coin-arresting means inoperative position, a light spring mount for said pin normally biased tomove said pin out of holding-p0 sition, and a normally open pivotallymounted.

' switch in said solenoid circuit and rotated into closed circuitpositionv by engagement by said coin;- dispenser upon insertion thereofinto the casing; said switch also upon rotation into closed circuitposition engaging the spring mount tomove the said pin into positionwherebythe coin arresting: means is in operative position.

3. A coin collector and dispenser, comprising. a housing having anentrance for the reception of coins; a chute communicating with said.en, trance and through which a coin will. drop: by gravity; 9. coindispenser removably positioned within said housing and having areservoir pocket beneath the. discharge end of said chute to receivecoins dropping therefrom; a cup beneath said coin dispenser into which.coins released by said dispenser may fall, said cup also being in theline of fall of a coin discharging from said chute;

a catch disposed within said housing and having a finger projecting intosaid chute adjacent the discharge end thereof to prevent a coin from".passing out of said chute; resilient means operated by engagement of aWall of said coin dispenser therewith for maintaining said fingernormally within said chute and permitting said. finger to drop beneathsaid chute upon removal of said dispenser from said housing, whereby inthe latter circumstance a coin will freely drop through said chute intosaid cup; a solenoid having an armature mechanically connected to saidcatch and effective upon movement to reciprocate said catch to move thefinger thereof beneath the chute and release any coin previously heldthere by, said armature on return movement restoring said finger tonormal position within said chute;- and switch means in the energizingcircuit of said solenoid, said switch means being efiective upon beingstruck by a coin passing through said chute to momentarily energize saidsolenoid.

4. A coin collector and dispenser, including a housing having a coinentrance for the reception of coins of at least two difierent diametersja passage extending from said entrance; chutes communicating with saidpassage for receivingcoins of respectively different diameters, saidpassage having means for diverting coins to the proper chutes accordingto the diameter thereof; a coin dispenser removably disposed within saidhousing and having coin receiving pockets aligned with the respectivechutes to receive coins passing therefrom; a catch reciprocably mountedwithin said housing and having stop fingers normally projecting intosaid chutes adjacent the discharge ends thereof to arrest the passage ofa coin therethrough; coin actuated electric switch means in the path ofcoin travel through said chutes; a counter mechanism for totalling thenumber of coins passing through the respective chutes; a solenoid incircuit with said respective switch means, said solenoid having amovable armature connected to said counter mechanism to actuate the sameupon closure of any switch means; a linkage connecting said armaturevwith said catch for moving said catch downwardly to remove the fingersthereof out of engagement with any coin previously retained thereby topermit such coin to pass into a pocket of said coin dispenser and aswitch for opening the circuits through said solenoid upon removal ofsaid coin dispenser from said housing.

ROBERT S. WALLACH.

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